And, sports fans, what do you know! I did have a ballot for the National League campaign this season! And I made the right call, too!

I know this because, over the past several days, I read numerous stories declaring there was no incorrect choice among Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta, only choices with varying degrees of correctness.

So, as difficult as it was to pick just one, the exercise certainly was more enjoyable than facing a decision that – much like Don Mattingly pondering his Dodger middle relief options – offered no correct answers.

My ballot was submitted with Arrieta on top, followed by Greinke and then Kershaw, the exact order of finish announced Wednesday.

This means I either had a tremendous grasp on the process from start to finish or I’m no smarter than the average baseball writer, and there’s a reason Albert Einstein chose exploring physics over covering the Phillies.

For one thing, these days especially, there’s less math involved in physics.

The Cy Young, unlike any other award presented in all of sports, has become a celebration of analytics, a true adventure in arithmetic and all the fun such a mind-numbing adventure promises.

To appreciate how much baseball has changed over the past century or so, consider that Cy Young himself completed his entire 22-year career during a time when numbers had so little to do with the game that the players typically didn’t even wear them on their jerseys.

Now, of course, nothing is permitted to take place during the course of a game unless it can be quantified, up to and including the number of times the third base coach tugs on his ear.

The trouble this year was that each of the three NL Cy Young finalists had compelling – and often times historically comparable – data to support his case.

It was similar to debating the accomplishment of a 56-game hitting streak versus a 59-inning scoreless streak. Settling on one meant discarding an achievement so moving that it could influence parents when naming their children, although, admittedly, I can’t at the moment think of too many other Orels.

Taken individually, Greinke, Kershaw and Arrieta each produced a season that statistically ranked among the greatest of all-time. Award-wise, it was a matter of tremendous inconvenience that all three happened simultaneously.

I went with Arrieta mostly because of his absurd second half, concluding that he was brilliant all season and then even more so when the games grew in importance. I mean, the guy gave up four earned runs over his final 881/3 innings!

I’m not certain, but, by comparison, I believe C.J. Wilson gave up 881/3 runs over his final four innings.

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